North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye is the unanimous choice as The Associated Press offensive player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Pittsburgh tackle Calijah Kancey was named the league’s top defensive player.
Duke’s Mike Elko, whose Blue Devils improved five games to 8-4 and earned a Military Bowl berth in his first season, is coach of the year in results released Tuesday following voting by 14 media members who cover the conference.
ACC champion Clemson had four first-team selections among six players overall. Tigers sophomore Will Shipley, who has rushed for 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, earned dual honors as first team running back and all-purpose player.
Kancey repeated as a first-team selection after recording 14.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks this season. He led Pittsburgh’s five-player contingent that included punishing rusher Israel Abanikanda, a unanimous first-team choice. The junior had a league-best 1,431 yards rushing with 20 TDs.
Maye, a redshirt freshman and the younger brother of former Tar Heels basketball star Luke Maye, passed for 4,115 yards and 35 TDs as UNC won the Coastal Division title. Tar Heels receiver Josh Downs (1,029 yards, 11 TDs) was also a unanimous first-team selection.
Florida State and North Carolina State, both bowl bound, also had six players chosen. Seminoles defensive end Jared Verse, who tied with Kancey in tackles for loss and sacks, was voted newcomer of the year after transferring from Albany.
The 2022 Associated Press All-Atlantic Coast Conference team, as selected by a panel of 14 sports writers who regularly cover the league. Players at all positions are listed alphabetically with name, school, height, weight, class and hometown; “u-” denotes unanimous selections:
First team
Offense
u_QB -- Drake Maye, North Carolina, 6-4, 220, r-fr., Huntersville, North Carolina
u_RB -- Israel Abanikanda, Pittsburgh, 5-11, 215, jr., New York, New York
RB -- Will Shipley, Clemson, 5-11, 205, soph., Weddington, N.C.
u_WR -- Josh Downs, North Carolina, 5-10, 175, jr., Suwanee, Georgia
WR -- Zay Flowers, Boston College, 5-10, 172, sr., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
TE -- Oronde Gadsden II, Syracuse, 6-5, 216, soph., Fort Lauderdale, Florida
OT -- Jordan McFadden, Clemson, 6-2, 305, sr., Spartanburg, S.C.
OT -- Graham Barton, Duke, 6-5, 311, jr., Brentwood, Texas
OG -- Dillan Gibbons, Florida State, 6-5, 327, sr., Saint Petersburg, Florida
OG -- Marcus Minor, Pittsburgh, 6-4, 325, sr., Lanham, Maryland
C -- Grant Gibson, North Carolina State, 6-1, 310, grad., Charlotte, North Carolina
u_K -- Chris Dunn, North Carolina State, 5-8, 170, grad., Lexington, North Carolina
All-purpose player -- Will Shipley, Clemson
Defense
DE -- Jared Verse, Florida State, 6-4, 251, soph., Berwick, Pennsylvania
DE -- K.J. Henry, Clemson, 6-4, 255, grad., Winston-Salem, North Carolina
u_DT -- Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh, 6-0, 280, jr., Miami
DT -- Tyler Davis, Clemson, 6-2, 300, sr., Apopka, Florida
LB -- Yasir Abdullah, Louisville, 6-1, 242, sr., Miramar, Fla.
LB -- Drake Thomas, North Carolina State, 6-0, 230, jr., Wake Forest, North Carolina
LB -- Cedric Gray, North Carolina, 6-2, 230, jr., Charlotte, North Carolina
CB -- Ayden White, North Carolina State, 6-0, 185, soph., Asheville, North Carolina
CB -- Anthony Johnson, Virginia, 6-2, 205, grad., Coconut Creek, Florida
S -- Kam Kinchens, Miami, 5-11, 202, soph., Miami
S -- Jammie Robinson, Florida State, 5-11, 203, jr., Cordele, Georgia
P -- Lou Hedley, Miami, 6-4, 220, sr., Mandurah, Australia
Second team
Offense
QB -- Jordan Travis, Florida State, 6-1, 212, jr., West Palm Beach, Florida
RB -- Sean Tucker, Syracuse, 5-10, 210, soph., Owings Mills, Maryland
RB -- Trey Benson, Florida State, 6-1, 215, soph., Greenville, Mississippi
WR -- A.T. Perry, Wake Forest, 6-5, 205, jr., Lake Worth, Florida
WR -- Tyler Hudson, Louisville, 6-2, 195, sr., Spring, Texas
TE -- Will Mallory, Miami, 6-5, 245, sr., Jacksonville, Florida
OT -- Matthew Bergeron, Syracuse, 6-5, 322, jr., Victoriaville, Quebec, Canada
OT -- Robert Scott Jr., Florida State, 6-5, 334, soph., Conway, Arkansas
OG -- Chandler Zavala, North Carolina State, 6-5, 325, grad., Boynton Beach, Florida
OG -- Sean Maginn, Wake Forest, 6-3, 304, sr., Suwanee, Georgia
C -- Bryan Hudson, Louisville, 6-4, 301, r-jr., Georgetown, Kentucky
K -- B.T. Potter, Clemson, 5-10, 200, grad., Rock Hill, South Carolina
All-purpose player -- Jalon Calhoun, Duke, 5-11, 189, sr., Greenville, South Carollina
Defense
DE -- Myles Murphy, Clemson, 6-5, 275, jr., Marietta, Georgia
DE -- Donovan Ezeiruaku, Boston College, 6-2, 236, so., Williamstown, New Jersey
DT -- DeWayne Carter, Duke, 6-3, 298, r-jr., Pickerington, Ohio
DT -- Kobie Turner, Wake Forest, 6-3, 290, sr., Clifton, Virginia
LB -- SirVocea Dennis, Pittsburgh, 6-1, 230, sr., Syracuse, New York
LB -- Mikel Jones, Syracuse, 6-1, 224, jr., Miami, Florida
LB -- Nick Jackson, Virginia, 6-1, 234, sr., Atlanta
LB -- Ayinde Eley, Georgia Tech, 6-3, 233, sr., Olney, Maryland
LB -- Isaiah Moore, North Carolina State, 6-2, 232, grad., Chester, Virginia
LB -- Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech, 6-2, 207, sr., Thomasville, Georgia
CB -- Fentrell Cypress II, Virginia, 6-0, 184, jr., Rock Hill, South Carolina
CB -- Storm Duck, North Carolina, 6-0, 200, jr., Boiling Springs, South Carolina
S -- Erick Hallett II, 5-11, 190, sr., Cypress, Texas
S -- Tanner Ingle, North Carolina State, 5-10, 186, sr., Orlando, Florida
P -- Daniel Sparks, Virginia, 6-6, 203, jr., Gadsden, Alabama
Coach of the Year -- Mike Elko, Duke
Offensive Player of the Year -- Drake Maye, North Carolina
Defensive Player of the Year -- Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh
Newcomer of the Year -- Jared Verse, Florida State
Voting panel:
Mike Barber, Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Jonathan Blau, Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Jerry DiPaola, Tribune Total Media, Pittsburgh; Joe Giglio, WRAL/99.9 The Fan, Raleigh, North Carolina; Trevor Hass, Boston Globe; Adam Lichtenstein, South Florida Sun Sentinel; Nate Mink, Syracuse (New York), Post-Standard; Brian Murphy, WRALsportsfan.com, Raleigh, North Carolina; Matt Murschel, Orlando (Florida) Sentinel; Ken Suguira, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; David Teel, Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; David Thompson, Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer; Steve Wiseman, Durham (North Carolina) Herald-Sun.
